Your LinkedIn account can be a great tool for networking, job hunting, and presenting yourself to the wider professional public. However, if you ever need to delete a LinkedIn account for any reason, follow the steps in this article. The process is quick and painless.

Steps

Part 1

Closing the Account

1

Log in to the LinkedIn account that you intend to close. Click your name in the top right corner. Be aware, however, that once you delete your LinkedIn account, you will no longer:

Have access to professional connections or personal information contained on the site

Have a profile visible on LinkedIn

Additionally, it may take several days for your LinkedIn information and profile to disappear completely from search engines like Google.[1]

2

Click the "Privacy & Settings" link on the drop-down menu. Move your cursor over your profile picture on the upper right hand side of your browser and click on "Privacy & Settings."

You may need to sign in again for a second time in order to safeguard private information.

3

Under the "Account" tab, click on "Close Your Account." The "Account" tab is one the left sidebar.

4

Select the reason that you want to close your account.

5

Verify the account information on the next screen. Click "Verify Account" when you're done.

6

Click "Close Account" on the next page. LinkedIn may take up to 72 hours to officially close the account.

Part 2

Getting What You Want Without Deleting Your Account

1

Merge duplicate LinkedIn accounts. If you have more than one LinkedIn account associated with one email address and you want to delete one of them, you can actually contact LinkedIn and ask them to merge your accounts. There's no way to do this manually.

LinkedIn allows you to transfer connections, but at the moment does not allow transference of recommendations, work experience, pending invitations, or group memberships.[2]

2

Cancel a premium account. If you're a premium member but no longer wish to pay for the privilege, you can delete your premium membership without deleting your entire account.

Opt out of social advertising. LinkedIn's default setting allows it to use your image in ads promoting LinkedIn. If you'd rather opt out of this instead, follow the simple tutorial instead of deleting your page entirely.